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4/21/16 - Thoughts and observations from a Thursday trip to the Disneyland Resort
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Welcome to the disneygeek.com Geek Speaks section. In this section I will post my comments on trips to the parks or other Disney related events.

4/21/16 - Thoughts and observations from a Thursday trip to the Disneyland Resort

Hello everyone,

I have not been to the park on a non holiday Thursday in a long time. I thought both parks felt more crowded than they should have been for a Thursday toward the end of April, several weeks after Easter. Wait times were moderate with many in the 30 minute range most of the day and only a couple in the hour range. Both parks closed early, DCA at 8 Disneyland at 9.

Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • It was great to hear the familiar sound of the Jungle Cruise boats. Less than two weeks until the attraction re-opens. My understanding is the big change will be the dock now has stabilizers to hold the boats in place. This will man no more ropes and hopefully quicker loading and unloading. Also hearing many of the effects in the Jungle have been renovated and should be back to regular operation. Lastly the sound system both in the Jungle and on the boats is said to have been renovated. No rumors of major new elements but you should be able to once again hear all the existing ones better than ever before. Looking forward to see what has changed in the jungle.

  • Circled the park to see what if anything was going on, and to get a look at the ongoing and new projects. The list grew this week with the Monorail and Matterhorn both being closed. The Toontown hills project has finally wrapped up and they are restored to their former selves. Some work going on with the front entrance of the Five & Dime but no signs of other projects in Toontown this week. In addition to renovation projects, be sure to check the park entertainment schedule when planning your trips this time of year. Entertainment and offerings do vary.. for example this week Soundsational is not running Mon-Thurs. Also Magical Map is dark on Tues-> Thurs.

  • Over at Disney California Adventure the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail had a display of the 10 finalists in the Disney Environmentality Art contest. Cast Member teams created art pieces using recycled items from around the Disneyland Resort. The entries were narrowed down to the final 10 and those were put out in the park to vote on. I have the pieces and their descriptions in the full photo set. I thought they were great to look at and showcased some of the talent around the resort. I wish they would have gotten a little more publicity or been in a more highly trafficked area so more guests could enjoy them.

  • A note on meeting the Frozen characters. Olaf has moved inside the Animation Building joining the Frozen sisters. You wait in one line and after meeting the sisters you meet Olaf in another room.

  • The Frozen Sing along has ended its run at the Muppet Theater and the Disney Parks Blog announced the Alice Through the Looking Glass preview will be moving in. No word on if/when the Muppets will return.

  • This trip I had some family members which included a three year old as part of my group. It is always fun to experience the park through the eyes of those who either have not or are not regulars. The three year old last visited over a year ago so everything was basically new for her. The rest of the group had not visited the Rollickin Roadsters so we paid Luigi and his cousins a visit. The wait was posted at 20 minutes but it took us closer to 30. The verdict from the three year old was all smiles and she called it the crazy car ride. So it was definitely a hit with her. The adults in the group said they enjoyed it. One said better than the Flying Tires. The other two said the same as the Flying Tires.

  • The Incredibles H.I.T. Squad (Heroes in Training) has returned to the DCA and takes place twice daily in Paradise Pier. The show is more or less identical to the version that played 5 years ago during the DCA makeover when the parade route was inaccessible. Only difference is this time it is in Paradise Pier vs Hollywood Land. The show drew a good size crowd and thanks to the Food and Wine Marketplaces right next door really bottled up traffic in the area too.

  • Speaking of Food & Wine Festival the Marketplaces are open during the week and if Thursday was an indication of the crowds they are much more pleasant than the weekends, as you would expect. The AP lounge in the Blue Sky Cellar was also open and they were distributing the button and recipe of the week. They did not have previous buttons available as they did for the AP Days unfortunately. So I missed out on the 2nd week and will miss the final weeks.

  • Ended my evening at the World of Color Dessert Party. This even takes place most nights and costs $79 a person. For this you get a seat for the show (yes I said seat), a dessert plate, and beverages. I have a separate post detailing this experience and my thoughts on it posted to the blog - World of Color Dessert Party – 1st Impressions & Details

Here are some recent posts to the Geek's Blog:

Geek's Blog Postings Recap – April 6-15, 2016

Disney Related Press Releases

Be sure to check out the picture update that goes with this Geekspeak column, it can be found in our Disneyland Resort Pictorial Update section

Send comments, questions, any other email to: disneygeek@disneygeek.com
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